1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electronic device and carrier telephone equipment preferably adapted to a portable cellular phone, a personal handyphone system (PHS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld electronic dictionary, a handheld gaming device, a recording and/or reproducing device for a recording medium such as a CD, an MD, a DVD, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory, a controller connected on a connection line linking the recording and/or reproducing device and earphones (or headphones).
2. Description of the Related Art
A portable electronic device having a liquid crystal display unit and an operating unit incorporated in a physically one and the same housing has been known nowadays. Specifically, the electronic device refers to a stick-type (=straight) portable cellular phone, a personal handyphone system (PHS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld electronic dictionary, a handheld gaming device, a recording and/or reproducing device for a recording medium such as a CD, an MD, a DVD, a hard disk, or a semiconductor memory, and a controller connected on a connection line linking the recording and/or reproducing device and earphones (or headphones).
A patent document (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-309992) has disclosed the structure of an operating unit (keypad) employed in the electronic device, for example, the portable cellular phone.
In general, the liquid crystal display unit and operating unit are stand-alone members. Therefore, when the liquid crystal display unit and operating unit are incorporated in physically one and the same housing, the housing must have a size calculated by adding up an area required for the liquid crystal display unit and an area required for the operating unit. This poses a problem in that the resultant electronic device becomes large in size.
Therefore, the size of the liquid crystal display unit is reduced, the sizes of operating buttons included in the operating unit are reduced, and the space between adjoining buttons is reduced. Thus, the liquid crystal display unit and operating unit are downsized. Eventually, the electronic device becomes compact.
However, the reduction in the size of the liquid crystal display unit poses a problem in that characters or an image displayed on the liquid crystal display unit becomes hard to see. Moreover, when the size of the operating unit is reduced, an incorrect manipulation of pressing some operating buttons at a time is likely to occur.
Talking of the portable electronic device, the device itself should preferably be designed compactly for higher portability. On the other hand, users demand a large liquid crystal display device for ease of seeing. Moreover, users request an operating unit of excellent maneuverability.
Consequently, the portable electronic device is requested to be designed very compactly while having the area occupied by an operating unit largely reduced without impairment in the display ability of a liquid crystal display unit and the maneuverability of the operating unit.